Foldable hat

ABSTRACT

A foldable hat composed of separate interconnected sections, each section including a crown wall portion and a brim portion and each of said sections being hingedly connected to one another defining a hat which is to be collapsed into a folded condition in which the sections are in stacked relation; the hat also includes a crown portion interconnected to the upper end zone of the crown wall portion by open work strings defining a generally open work crown for ventilation.

[ Mar. 11, 1975 United States ate n91 Hartman et al.

m m r n m e m u d H H e u H O u r m n h N U C m m S H n r m ma SPA W l l 224 r 999 M H .H 0149 n a 040 E 597 y 9 r 829 m mm .n l H D P .5 hWU t '3 w 5 in S ,i mmm ..l M m n f mo mu s r m y .0 HR R n H H h u t 0 E JC m s r M w n m V F m 4 6 5 7 Assistant Examiner-Peter Nerbun [22 Filed: July 2, 1973 Appl. No.: 375,915

[57] ABSTRACT A foldable hat composed of separate interconnected [52] US. Cl... 2/175, 2/l98 [Sl] Int. A42b 1/20 sect'ons .each 9 Including 3 portion and a brim portion and each of said sections being hingedly connected to one another defining a hat MW 2 2 H5 2 aww 2 ,2 00 D 5 7 l. 2 h

which is to be collapsed into a folded condition in which the sections are in stacked relation; the hat also includes a crown portion interconnected to the upper end zone of the crown wall portion by open work [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS FOLDABLE HAT FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to hats, and, more particularly to a decorative, broad brim hat which is foldable so that it can be easily carried in a pocket or womans purse and which is adapted for use as a sun bonnet at sporting events and the like.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the past, there have been numerous types of hats of flexible, foldable material which have been used as sun bonnets and the like. Representative prior art foldable hats are that disclosed in US Pat. Nos. 478,952; 742,731; 2,740,127; 2,869,136; 2,677,132; and 3,234,563. Each of these hats generally includes a head covering portion and a brim portion and some include a separation or fold line separating the wall of the crown and the brim portion; however, these hats are not of a completely foldable construction in which the crown wall portions and brim portions comprise separate sections which are hingedly connected to one another so that the same may be folded into an accordion fold for compact storage with the sections in generally stacked relation and adapted to be unfolded into a hatdefining unit, and including a separate crown portion hingedly connected to the sections.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is, accordingly, an object of this invention to provide a collapsible, foldable hat for use at sporting events and the like where the wearer finds himself in the sun which is decorative and composed of foldable sections so that the hat can be collapsed into substantially a stack of sections, each section including a brim portion and crown wall portion, the sections being hingedly connected together and in turn being connected to a central crown portion spaced from the upper edge of the crown wall portions so as to define an open topped hat.

It is a general object of this invention to provide an improved, inexpensive collapsible hat which provides shade for the wearer and which is adapted to be folded into a collapsed condition and readily carried to a sporting event or the like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the improved hat;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the hat in a collapsed folded condition; and

FIG. 3 is a line drawing illustrating the characteristic fold lines of the hat in a collapsed condition.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring to the drawings, wherein like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the different views, and referring particularly to FIG. 1, the hat is designated by the numeral 12 and is composed of a plurality of sections such as that designated generally by the numeral 13, each of which it is seen includes an upper portion or crown wall portion 16 and a lower or brim portion 18, each portion being interconnected by a hinge line 20. Each of the sections are hingedly connected as along hinge line 24 to adjacent sections, each of the sections being similar in size and shape and in combination forming the hat.

Referring now to the individual sections of the illustrated preferred embodiment of the invention, the brim portion of each section preferably includes a plastic panel portion 32 which is generally trapezoidal in shape with rounded corners and provided, preferably, with a plurality of holes such as that designated by the numeral 34 spaced inwardly from the edges in a pattern which generally traces that of the edge or margin of the portion. The crown wall portion of each section includes a plastic panel portion 36 which is generally rectangular, the upstanding edges 38 and 40 being generally straight and terminating at an upper rounded portion 41 with the lower portion 42 being generally straight and being connected to the upper edge 44 of the lower portion 32 along hinge line 46.

The panel portions of the crown wall portion are also preferably provided with a plurality of holes such as that designated by the numeral 48 spaced inwardly from the edges and in a pattern which generally traces the edge or margin of the crown portions.

In the preferred embodiment shown, yarn is utilized as the hinge means, the same being wound and woven around and around the edges of the panels so as to define a border zone, which is generally indicated by the numeral 60 and which is decorative. The borders of adjacent panels are seamed together as at the seam 62. The seams interconnect each of the sections into the hat-defining relation illustrated in FIG. 1, it being noted that the seams terminate at their lower end so that there are rounded, decorative, discrete scalloped edges of the hat brim.

As shown in FIG. 3, the hat is adapted to be folded in half, that is, with the sides 64, 66, 68 and 70 facing in a common direction and with the sides 72, 74, 76 and 78 facing the opposite direction. When thus collapsed the sections are grouped in pairs, and, thereafter, the pairs are folded in an accordion fold defining the stack shown in FIG. 2, it being noted that by reason of the fact that the crown wall sections are relatively small in relation to the brim sections, the same may be placed into the back pocket of a mans trousers with the brim portions extending out of the pocket, or, alternatively, the stack may be conveniently stored in a purse or the like. It will be noted that, at the upper terminus of each seam line joining the sections, a string such as that designated by the numeral 80 is provided and connects the crown wall portions to a relatively small crown piece. In a preferred embodiment, the crown piece is composed of a plastic disk or other suitably shaped configuration, such as that indicated by the numeral 82, which is also provided with a plurality of holes therearound, similar to the portions of the sections previously described and in turn a yarn is provided, such as that indicated by the numeral 84.

What is claimed is:

l. A collapsible hat composed of a plurality of interconnected sections, each section including a crown wall defining portion and a brim portion, hinge means interconnecting adjacent sections whereby the sections are adapted to be collapsed into stacked relation defining a compact, collapsible hat, said hat including a crown portion connected to the upper end zone of each of the crown walls defining portions and being spaced therefrom, and an open-work collapsible, plurality of strings interconnecting the sections and the crown portion, and each of the portions of said section being interconnected by hinge means, whereby, when the hat is an opened condition, the brim portions extend outspaced inwardly and extending about the margin of each panel and said hinge means comprise seam means along the adjacent margins of the sections and panels and decorative portions extending from a line on the panels defined by the pattern of holes to the hinge means and define margins of the panels.

3. The hat as set forth in claim 2 wherein the crown portion includes a panel having a plurality of holes spaced inwardly from the margin. 

1. A collapsible hat composed of a plurality of interconnected sections, each section including a crown wall defining portion and a brim portion, hinge means interconnecting adjacent sections whereby the sections are adapted to be collapsed into stacked relation defining a compact, collapsible hat, said hat including a crown portion connected to the upper end zone of each of the crown walls defining portions and being spaced therefrom, and an open-work collapsible, plurality of strings interconnecting the sections and the crown portion, and each of the portions of said section being interconnected by hinge means, whereby, when the hat is an opened condition, the brim portions extend outwardly from the main plane of the associated crown wall portion of the section defining a decorative hat brim and the hat is adapted to be collapsed into a folded, stacked relation, said crown wall portions being generally rectangular in shape and said brim portions being generally trapezoidal in shape.
 1. A collapsible hat composed of a plurality of interconnected sections, each section including a crown wall defining portion and a brim portion, hinge means interconnecting adjacent sections whereby the sections are adapted to be collapsed into stacked relation defining a compact, collapsible hat, said hat including a crown portion connected to the upper end zone of each of the crown walls defining portions and being spaced therefrom, and an open-work collapsible, plurality of strings interconnecting the sections and the crown portion, and each of the portions of said section being interconnected by hinge means, whereby, when the hat is an opened condition, the brim portions extend outwardly from the main plane of the associated crown wall portion of the section defining a decorative hat brim and the hat is adapted to be collapsed into a folded, stacked relation, said crown wall portions being generally rectangular in shape and said brim portions being generally trapezoidal in shape.
 2. The hat as set forth in claim 1 wherein tHe crown wall portion and the brim portion each comprise a plastic panel and include a plurality of holes in a pattern spaced inwardly and extending about the margin of each panel and said hinge means comprise seam means along the adjacent margins of the sections and panels and decorative portions extending from a line on the panels defined by the pattern of holes to the hinge means and define margins of the panels. 